The Systems Challenge

Elin listened to Michelle relate how she'd arrived with awe. She had no idea what Michelle really meant by an obstacle course, but the icy water sounded horrible! Then to have to move along the side of a cliff with that water running down it was more than she'd have ever imagined. What was more is that in her world people actually did that voluntarily and not as a form of punishment or torture!

"How often did you do that obstacle course?" Elin asked.

"How often?" Michelle asked, sounding confused. "I thought I said that was my first time doing that obstacle course. The others aren't near as difficult, but they're still challenging. The biggest part is getting through in under a certain amount of time. Maybe I could have figured out which tunnel to take if I had time, but in combat, you rarely get the luxury of being able to think about what action to take next."

Elin sighed. "I've never actually been in real combat," she said.

"What are you talking about?" Elmo asked. "Last night when we fought the skeletons was combat."

"Really?" Elin asked, surprised.

"From what you guys said about it, yeah, that would be combat. Although, not as heavy of combat as what Michelle was training for," Patricia remarked.

"Why don't you go next?" Michelle suggested. "Maybe we can see why you're so sheltered and naïve."

"Okay," Elin replied cheerfully. "Though, there's not so much to tell, really."

+++

"Miss Davies, you really should take things more easy, you know?" her personal maid, Cynthia, told her as she rubbed her arms with the cloth during her bath, occasionally dipping the cloth in the water Elin was sitting in. "If you insist on doing so much work, you might start developing muscle and then who would want to marry you? Maybe a commoner, but not anyone from the nobility."